O, Brave New World
by Michael Downey
Summary: The old way of life is gone. Survival no longer means buying a car or house. The world has changed, and people must be willing to change in order to survive. Can you survive?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is an original story with no pre-existing characters in The Walking Dead universe. Although it doesn't seem rated M now, it will later on. Please enjoy and leave a review. Comments and constructive criticism welcome. **

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><p>The boiling hot weather made it difficult for Isaac and his son, David, to push the shopping cart. The metal burned their hands and the scorched asphalt of the highway hurt their feet. The cart held several backpacks that contained canned food, clothes, and books. It would hold them off for quite some time, if they managed it properly. Isaac reached for the canteen.<p>

"Thirsty?" He asked David.

David reached for it, and took a swig. He passed it back to his father. He takes a small gulp, and screws the lid back on. They'd seen more vultures. One was eating a carcass right in front of them as they trekked across the highway. The smell was repugnant, but the vulture didn't mind. Those birds are scavengers and they thrive off the dead. Lucky for them. The black bird always fled at the screeching the cart produced. Isaac and David stopped in their tracks. Isaac looked through a backpack and produced a pair of binoculars. He looked through them and saw a wall made of cars. It was no wonder why the highway was completely void of vehicles.

"Come on, let's head back. Take the last exit out of here." Isaac turns the cart around and David follows.

The stars shone above them. Isaac and his son continued to walk alongside the road. The road led to a rest stop, where they'd sleep for the night. "Are you tired as I am?" Isaac asked.

David only nods. The child barely spoke. Granted, you can't make too much noise now, but Isaac was worried the boy would lose his voice. He also just wanted to have a conversation. It'd been a while since Isaac had talked to another person. David walked ahead and opened the rest stop door. The aisles that had candy and other snacks were gone. The refrigerator was empty and the some shelves were missing. Only some magazines were left. They were travel guides for Connecticut. "We could use these." Isaac said as he put the magazines in the cart.

Isaac lit up the kerosene lamp. David was hugging his knees. Isaac pulled out a children's book from a backpack. "Do you want me to read you a story?" David shook his head in response. "You just want to sleep?" David nodded his head. "Okay," Isaac said as he went to the cart to get pillows.

"Good night."


	2. Chapter 2

Isaac awoke to the sound of crunching. Isaac turns to his left to see David, sitting cross-legged. He was eating from a box of Cheerios. David was usually the first to wake up. "Good morning," Isaac said as he got up. David only passes the box to him. Isaac waited for a response, knowing full well he wouldn't get one. Isaac gulps down a handful of Cheerios, "I, uh…" he said through his chewing, "Wish you'd talk to me." Nothing. Like always. Isaac closed the box and put it in a book bag. He grabbed the pillows and shoved them in the cart. "Let's go. Burning daylight."

Isaac pushed the cart down the road. Isaac had seen a sign that said this road led to a city. He could tell which one because the sign was overgrown with vines. He knew it started with an 'S'. David walked alongside him. They walked. They walked. They walked. Until they heard a moan. They stopped in their tracks. Isaac followed the sound of the moan. It was from a dead man. Isaac looked at him for a while. Its flesh became fused with the tree it was leaning against. You could've smelled it before you even saw it. David tugged on Isaac's sleeve. "What is it?" Isaac asked. David only ran back to the cart and started pushing. "Oh. You wanna push?" David looked at him and nodded. "Okay."

The city they were headed to was finally in view. Well, not a city. More suburban. Isaac motioned for David to stop. He went through one of the back packs to get a gun. M1911 pistol. He tucked it in his jeans. "Okay, go." The pair continued to walk. The buildings weren't very tall. The tallest one was ten stories high. They were covered in moss. The pipes underground burst a while ago for the streets were covered with light water. The asphalt and building would last for decades, probably. A thousand years from now, will we still exist? We've survived the Spanish flu, the bubonic plague, can we do this? What will ha—"I'm fucking bored, guys." Isaac and David flinched at hearing the voice. "Move. Slow." They pushed the cart quietly. "Uh… I've got a deck of cards, wanna play?"

"Hell yeah. This is gunna be the most fun I've had in weeks."

"You guys wanna play too?"

"Yeah"

"Yup"

"Got nothing better to do."

"We've got to get out of here." Isaac whispers to David as they began to speed walk. The cart moans. "What the fuck was that?" the voice said

"I dunno."Another said.

"Sounded like a cat."

"Lemme go check it out."

"Alright,"

Isaac and David glanced at each other. They both knew they were fucked. "Don't speak; be quiet." Isaac whispered. They began to walk again, this time at a snail's pace. "It's nothing, guys." The voice said. Isaac lets out a sigh. "Close call. Let's go. Now." Isaac said. Moments later, they heard footsteps. The pair turns around to see a group of five men, two holding blunt objects, and three holding pistols.

"What's in the cart?" One of them said.


	3. Chapter 3

"David, run!" Isaac yelled to the top of his lungs, roaring, almost. Isaac leaped over a jersey barrier with his back pack in hand. He takes a quick look. Pistol. Binoculars. A box of crackers. A cleaning rag. He heard the cart rolling away.

"We got the cart!" One of the thugs said.

Isaac sighed. He looked over to his side. No David. No David and no way out. Isaac popped out of cover, fired a round, and popped back in. The thugs returned fire. Isaac quickly ran from cover to cover, jersey barrier to jersey barrier. But where to now? No David and no way out.

"Somebody look for that fucking kid!" Someone shouted. Isaac did not move a muscle. He thought if he just waited there, those thugs would give up and go home. Predators can chase their prey for days.

"Go on, call out to him." A thug said. "Come on!"

"What, is he retarded?" Another said.

Isaac took a peek. His son was held at knifepoint. "H-he can't… speak," Isaac shouted, "Please… I only want to keep him alive! Take our things, let him go!"

"Your son is kinda… cute." A thug said as he tightened his grip around the boy.

"What the fuck are you doing?" someone else said, "He's just a kid. Leave him alone."

The thug who held David reached for his pistol and shot the objector and two other thugs.

"Got a fucking problem," The thug screeched, "Huh? Eric, you wanna die?" Before Eric could reach for his pistol, the thug killed him.

"Your son just became my newest sex toy. Good. The other four were getting boring." The thug ran the knife across David's face, cutting light enough for blood to escape. Isaac could see that David's breath was labored. Isaac stood up. "Let him go." Was all Isaac could muster. Tears were beginning to well up. It'd be hard to look tough now. The thug nodded his head and pushed David the ground before shooting him. The thug raised his pistol towards Isaac. Isaac couldn't bring himself to move. "Just do it." He said. The thug lowered his pistol instead.

"I can't kill you. Look at you, you fucking pussy. I don't have to kill you because you're already dead." He turned and began to walk away. He stopped for a moment and began to think. He took the cart and kicked it over to Isaac. "You're going to live a long time," The thug said, "Whether you like it or not." Isaac fell to his knees and tried his best not to cry. Isaac would fail. After a while, Isaac got up and pushed the cart. He'd keep pushing until his feet began to bleed.


End file.
